First of Microsoft's Xbox original programs due in June

Apr. 28, 2014
|

Xbox Originals logo / Xbox Entertainment Studios

by Mike Snider, USA TODAY

by Mike Snider, USA TODAY

Xbox owners can expect to see new original programs hitting Microsoft's online network in June.

The software and video game giant updated plans for its Xbox Entertainment Studios on Monday in a blog post detailing some upcoming shows and live events. Microsoft announced the formation of Xbox Entertainment Studios last May when it introduced the Xbox One.

At the time it also announced that Steven Spielberg would be executive producer on a new TV series based on the Halo video games. Since then, Microsoft confirmed that Blade Runner director Ridley Scott was working on a separate Halo "digital feature."

These new announcements shed little new light on those projects, other than that Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (Battlestar Galactica) will direct the program, which is due to be broadcast this year. In all, there are a dozen planned series or programs, the first of which begin arriving in June.

Kicking things off is an eight-episode series called Every Street United, about searching for the most gifted and undiscovered soccer players. The series will have a finale in a four-on-four soccer street game in Rio de Janeiro during the 2014 World Cup.

Also in June, Xbox will be the exclusive online broadcasting partner for the Bonnaroo festival June 13-15. The broadcasts will include live performances, as well as interactive features. (All Xbox Originals, which will be available on Xbox 360, Xbox One and other Microsoft devices, will have interactive features.)

"We are developing premium, original content for the Xbox community which is an audience we are incredibly respectful of," said Nancy Tellem, president of Xbox Entertainment Studios. The hiring of Tellem, the former CBS TV Studios president, was also announced last May at the Xbox One debut. "We believe Xbox Originals should embrace the way our fans think about traditional TV."

Also in the works for later this year: the documentary series Signal to Noise, produced by Searching for Sugar Man producer Simon Chinn. The first documentary, Atari: Game Over, covers the uncovering of millions of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial video game cartridges buried in the New Mexico desert.

Coming in 2015: the eight-episode series Humans, from the U.K. production company, Kudos (Broadchurch, The Hour), about robotic servants.

"I know full well from my years spent at traditional TV networks that creating a lineup of hit shows isn't easy," Tellem said. "It's the beginning of a long journey, but we're incredibly excited to be on our way."